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In 2022 and 2023, the Wittenberg Sunday Lectures will be dedicated to the topic of new beginnings. Three lectures are planned in loose succession this year and next. Dr. Volkmar Joestel. He takes the audience back to the time of Wittenberg in 1521/22 - that was a city without Luther. He was at the Wartburg. Through his courageous appearance in front of the Worms Reichstag, he had become a national hero and the year before he had presented a church and social reform program with the publication "To the Christian Nobility". Now people expected action, and in the absence of the charismatic leader, Luther, began to do so himself. In Wittenberg, students and citizens stormed monasteries and attacked priests and monks. The Augustinians, mostly Lutherans, dissolved their monastery. Melanchthon distributed communion to his students in both kinds. A highlight was the first ever evangelical church service on Christmas Day 1521 in the Castle Church. In January, reformed city ordinances followed with a reform of the church service, but also the establishment of a "common box" to support the poor and poor craftsmen and to maintain the hospitals.
What did people hope and expect back then? Why was the controversy over the sacrament of the Lord's Supper so important? Why didn't Luther like that? And what do we think about it today? Dr. Joestel in this Sunday lecture.
Dr. Joestel worked as a historian at the Lutherhaus for over 30 years. Scientifically, he dealt primarily with one of the main actors of the "Wittenberg Movement" of 1521/22, Luther's comrade-in-arms and later opponent Andreas Bodenstein, known as Doctor Karlstadt. Another focus of his work was Luther myths and legends.
The first Sunday lecture will take place on April 10 at 11:30 a.m. in the auditorium of the Evangelical Preacher Seminary on the top floor of the castle. Access is via the visitor center in the Castle Church.
Afterwards we cordially invite you to the presentation of the new book from the last year entitled “Alt. And full of life? a. This is available for the event at a special price, later in the visitor center and on our homepage.
The altar in the choir, which rises up to 12 m high, is made largely of soft French limestone because of its delicate shapes. On the massive mensa block (altar table) with a top made of red-brown marble there is a carved crucifix (1890 by the Tyrolean woodcarver Demetz) and two heavy brass candlesticks. Behind the mensa rises the tabernacle-like altarpiece, consisting of three high keel arches richly decorated with Gothic style elements, in which three large limestone figures stand.
The glass portraits of European reformers
In the two lower windows of the north wall to the left and right of the gallery stairs, 12 glass portraits of European reformers of the 16th century can be seen. They were donated in 1983 by the Evangelical Church of the Union to expand the one-sided selection of German protagonists of the Reformation made in the 19th century. The medallion-shaped portraits were created by the graphic artist Renate Brömme in grisaille painting based on historical models.
Castle church parish
The castle church parish was founded in 1949. For a long time there had been a desire to give this church its own congregation in addition to the preachers' seminary, thereby strengthening the religious life.
History
Around 1340, the Ascanian dukes had an "All Saints' Chapel" built at their castle and founded a collegiate monastery in it for liturgical service. Elector Friedrich the Wise had the palace with the chapel demolished and his new residential palace with a more spacious palace church built on the site. You can find out more about the story here.
Church for children
Every Sunday there is a children's service in the Wittenberg Castle Church, parallel to the adult service. Ms. Felicia Grauel is one of the volunteers for the children's service.